Thousands of anti-capitalist protesters returned to New York's Times Square on Saturday, buoyed by a global day of demonstrations in support of their month-long campaign against corporate greed.

In Chicago, more than 2,000 people marched from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago to Grant Park before setting up tents. Police said they arrested more than 200 protesters who refused to leave this morning.

The Occupy Wall Street movement has been gathering steam over the past month, culminating with the global day of action yesterday.

Inspired by the grass-roots movement and Spain's "Indignants", protests started in Asia and Europe and rippled around to the US and Canada. The protests worldwide were mostly peaceful apart from Rome, where the demonstration sparked riots.